About the Play:

Winner of the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

You Can't Take It With You is a full-length comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Meet the Sycamores – a madcap clan who sets the bar for eccentricity. When Alice brings her high society fiancé home to meet the parents, fireworks (figuratively and literally) nearly bring the house down in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy. Despite their zany antics and unconventional ways, this tight-knit family offers hope that love and laughter lead to happiness, even in the hardest of times.

You Can't Take it With You introduces audiences to the freethinking Sycamore family and the mayhem that ensues when their daughter's fiancé brings his conservative, straight-laced parents to dinner on the wrong night. At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder. In contrast to these delightful people are the unhappy Kirbys. The plot shows how Tony, attractive young son of the Kirbys, falls in love with Alice Sycamore and brings his parents to dine at the Sycamore home on the wrong evening. The shock sustained by the Kirbys, who are invited to eat cheap food, shows Alice that marriage with Tony is out of the question. The Sycamores, however, though sympathetic to Alice, find it hard to realize her point of view. Meantime, Tony, who knows the Sycamores are right and his own people wrong, will not give her up, and in the end Mr. Kirby is converted to the happy madness of the Sycamores, particularly since he happens in during a visit by an ex-Grand Duchess, earning her living as a waitress. No mention has as yet been made of the strange activities of certain members of the household engaged in the manufacture of fireworks; nor of the printing press set up in the parlour; nor of Rheba the maid and her friend Donald; nor of Grandpa's interview with the tax collector when he tells him he doesn't believe in the income tax. Revived several times on Broadway, this heartfelt comedy classic is the only play with a film adaptation to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Best Play and the Academy Award for Best Picture.

You Can't Take It With You premiered in 1936 on Broadway at the Booth Theatre. One of the most popular and successful comedies in American theatre, this single-set show has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops, and is regularly performed in regional repertory, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 7 female, 9 male (3 male extras)

What people say:

"A lot of shows can make you laugh. What's rare is a play that makes you beam from curtain to curtain." — The New York Times

"I would recommend You Can't Take It With You to anybody who is looking for an entertaining comedy with a heartfelt message. A great family comedy, the audience is sure to leave with a smile on their faces." — Broadway World

About the Playwright:

Moss Hart (1904-1961) was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theatre on Broadway. He also succeeded in Hollywood, becoming a notable screenwriter. Among his many accolades are the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Academy Award nomination for best screenplay, and a Best Director Tony Award.

George S. Kaufman (1889-1961) was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. After brief periods studying law and as a salesman, he began to contribute humorous material to newspapers; by 1915 he was writing for the theatre section of the New York Tribune, moving to the New York Times (1917-30). He wrote forty-five plays and musicals in his career. The vast majority were hits and two of his collaborations won the Pulitzer Prize.